Jennette's POV

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" my brother asked for the fiftieth time. He had a job interview today, and had to leave me at home. "I can drive you over to Combeferre's if you want-"

"Enjyyyy!" I whined. "I'm thirteen! I can stay home alone just fine!"

"I know, I know," he admitted. "But if he comes back… you know who..."

I stiffened at the mention of my father, and my heart began beating faster. It had been over a month since he'd shown up at Enj's house and tried to strangle me. Enjolras had saved me just in time, but the memory still gave me nightmares.

Enj noticed my uneasiness and patted me on the head comfortingly. "Hey, I'm sure you'll be safe though. Eponine is bringing Gavroche over in a little bit, so you won't be lonely."

My heart did a little flip at the mention of my boyfriend. Gav was one of the best things that had ever happened to me, which is saying a lot, because I'd been miserable for most of my life. He was such a sweetheart—when I first met him after I'd been shot, he'd kindly given me a rose. His later actions showed that it had been out of love, not sympathy. We'd only been going out for a month now, and hadn't really done much, just holding hands, hugging, that kind of thing.

"Well, I should get going now," Enjolras said, picking up his brief case and giving me a peck on the cheek. It was weird to see him wearing a suit and looking so formal. He'd even tied his hair back to look more professional. "Be good, okay? And remember to call me if you needed anything."

"'Kay," I acknowledged. "Good luck with the interview!"

"Thanks!" my brother answered, smiling. "See you in a while!"

I watched him drive away in his scarlet Toyota. It stirred a memory from nearly eight years ago….

I attached myself to my brother's ankle, trying to stop him from leaving. "Enjy, wait! Take me with you!"

He knelt down and gently pried me off, smiling. "I can't, Jenne, I'll be far too busy to play with you!"

"But I'll miss you…" I pouted, trying to look as sad as possible so he'd stay.

"I'll visit you whenever I can," Enj said quickly.

"Okay…" I blinked away my tears, and reached up to tug gently on a strand of his luxurious golden curls. "May I?" I adored playing with his hair.

He nodded. I set to work trying to put his hair in a little braid. As my uncoordinated, five-year-old fingers began twisting it in knots, Enjolras gently moved them away. "Okay sweetie, it's time for me to go now."

I nearly burst into tears. "B-but…but I don't want you to go…."

"I know," he answered calmly. "But I've got to." He tried to stand up, but I grabbed him by the neck and hugged him one last time, then ran inside so I wouldn't have to watch him drive away.

Little did I know he would never come back…..

I had to grab at the railing to keep myself from falling over, the memory echoing over and over again in my mind. It wasn't the first time I'd had these little flashbacks. They would never end. My brother didn't even know I was having them. I wasn't going to tell him… he had enough to worry about. I went upstairs to my room and flopped on my bed. Enj and his friends had kindly re-decorated the old spare bedroom when I'd first come back from the hospital. It was my favorite place in the whole world, aside from La Musain. The bedroom-if you can even call it a bedroom- at my father's was basically an oversized closet with some old bed and dresser in it. I'd spent many terror-stricken nights there, usually crying myself to sleep. Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

A car door slammed, causing my train of thought to crash. I glanced out my window, and saw Gavroche and his sister heading up the front steps. Seconds later there was a knock on the door.

"Coming!" I shouted downstairs. Quickly I glanced at my appearance in the mirror, then charged down to answer the door.

"Hey sweetheart!" Gavroche pulled me into a hug the moment I opened the door.

"Hi babe," I answered, smiling.

"Hi Jenne!" Eponine chirped. She was much happier than she'd been when I'd first met her. The talk I'd had with her back in late June seemed to have given her a huge boost in confidence. 'Ponine had sent an application into a local college in early August, and she'd been accepted. I'd also heard from Gavroche that she was flirting a lot more with Combeferre and Grantaire.

"Hey!" I replied. "Come on in!"

"Unfortunately I can't," Eponine admitted, making a face. "I've got to fill out more college applications, ugh! But you two have fun, okay?" She ruffled her brother's hair. "I'll pick you both up around three."

I stared at her in confusion. "Why both of us?"
A mysterious, smug smile appeared on Gavroche's face, and he and Eponine exchanged a wink.

"You'll see."

I pouted at him. "Gavvyyyy! Tell me!"

He grinned. "Nope, you'll have to find out on your own." I made a face at him.

"I need to go," said Eponine, checking the time on her watch. "You kids have fun! See you later!"

The moment she pulled out of the driveway, I pulled Gavroche inside and slammed the door.

"It'si us time,/i" I whispered, smiling mischievously and grabbing him by the hand and practically dragging him into the living room.

He pretended to look scared. "Anything but that!"

"Oh, stop," I teased. "You i know /i you love being alone together."

Gavroche grinned. "I admit, I do." He pulled me closer to him, and kissed the top of my forehead affectionately. It was pretty easy for him, since I was about a foot shorter than he was.

The day passed fairly quickly. Gav and I didn't really do much, just played a few board games, curled up and watched a movie together…. At one point he'd chased me around the house a few times, but other than that, things were uneventful. Before I knew it, it was already 2:30. When I mentioned this to Gavroche, the mysterious smile he'd worn earlier returned to his face.

"What are you smirking about now?" I demanded.

"Oh, nothing," he giggled.

"Sure," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Gav paled a little bit and took hold of my hand. "You'll find out soon, babe, I promise,"

"You know I hate surprises… They make me nervous." I groaned.

"It'll be okay!" Gavroche insisted.

I surrendered. "Fiiiiine…."

At that moment there was the sound of a car outside.

"Great, she's early!" Gavroche said excitedly, grabbing me by the arm and dragged me into the front hallway.

"Gav!" I protested, grabbing my sandals before he could drag me outside. "Not this again…"

He laughed like a madman and ignored my complaints, still pulling me towards the door. "I can't wait to see your face when you find out… it's going to be so funny…"

Minutes later, we driving through the city, yet I was still in the dark as to where we were going. I'd pestered Gav and 'Ponine about our destination numerous times, but they wouldn't spill. It wasn't until I threatened to cry that Gavroche-fighting back laughter- said, "Okay, I can't take it anymore." He turned to his sister. "Should we tell her?"

"Might as well," she replied with a smug smile.

Gavroche turned back to me and took a deep breath. "Okay… we're heading out to upstate New York. Courf's parents are letting him use their old summer home, and he's invited everyone up for the afternoon."

He smiled broadly as a grin spread across my face. "Awesome!" I squealed. "How long does it take to drive there?"

Eponine glanced at us in the rearview mirror. "About an hour and a half."

I groaned. "You're kidding me."

"I'm not," she replied. "But don't worry, it'll go quickly."

"This is going to be so much fun!" I gushed, slipping my hand into Gavroche's.

Ninety minutes and several games of 'I Spy' later, Eponine pulled into the driveway of this cute, moderate-sized cottage. It was much, much quieter than back in the city, and it had a sort of tranquil aura about it. The building was surrounded by a vast forest, complementing its rustic look.

"It's beautiful," I breathed, having never been out of NYC before. "Wow…."

Gavroche kissed my hand. "Isn't it? C'mon, I'll show you around."

He helped me out of the car as soon as Eponine parked, and together we ran up the stairs of the adorable little porch in the front of the cottage. Courfeyrac, Jehan, and Grantaire were sitting on one of those porch swings. Jehan broke into a grin when he saw me.

"Jenne!" he squealed, leaping out of his partner's lap and giving me a smooch on the cheek (He's creepy like that sometimes) "So glad you're here, sweetie! Do you like it?"
I nodded vigorously. "It's so cool!"

"You haven't even seen the whole thing yet," Gavroche told me. "Come on!"

Gav lead me around the entire property, showing practically every nook and cranny. It was an absolutely gorgeous house. We saw a lot of my brother's other friends, and the guy Eponine had told me about—Marius. He was sitting with an arm around the waist of a pretty blonde girl. They'd visited me together in the hospital, but I still didn't really know her name. Colette? Corsette? No, it was Cosette. She smiled at Gavroche and I as we breezed through the room. I could see why Marius liked her: good looks, sweet, bubbly personality, and a dazzling smile. But Eponine had the same traits! Why didn't he like her? Romance is complicated shit, I guess.

Finally, we finished our tour of the place. Gavroche and I headed back to the porch, where Courfeyrac and the other two were waiting.

"Do you like it?" he asked, grinning.

"It's amazing!" I answered. "I absolutely LOVE it!"
Courf laughed. "Yeah, it's too bad my folks won't let me move in. But then again-" -he paused to give Jehan a kiss- "I'd be separated from my little poet and all my friends!"

"Awww, Courfy… You know I hate being separated from you, my love." Jehan giggled.

Gavroche and I exchanged a glance. Those two went a bit overboard with the romance stuff sometimes.

"There you two are!" exclaimed Eponine, emerging from the kitchen. "On the counter there's a box of brownies, which you so KINDLY helped me to bring in!"

Gav grinned sheepishly and shrugged, and I did the same. 'Ponine's stern expression faded and she laughed. "You two are too cute for words!"

She barely had time to say that before we ran into the kitchen, grabbed at least three brownies each, then scampered out to the backyard, giggling.

We hung out in some old, easy-to-climb tree, eating brownies and striking weird triumphant poses.

"Man, I wish we got to come here more than once a year, instead of just the last day of summer," said Gavroche, his mouth full of chocolaty goodness. "I don't want to go back to school…."

I groaned. "Me either. But," I went on, slipping my hand into his free one (fortunately not covered in chocolate) "at least we'll be together."

He smiled and rested his head on my shoulder. "That's true. You're in most of my classes, plus we've got the same homeroom."

We sat up there for what seemed like eternity until Combeferre came outside, obviously looking for us.

"Jennette! Your brother's here!"

"Coming!" I yelled from up in the tree. Gavroche helped me climb down, then raced me to the porch… I won.

We found Enj lounging next to Feuilly on the porch swing. He'd changed out of the suit he'd been wearing when he left that morning, and now he was wearing his usual navy blue jeans with a red sweatshirt.

"Enjy!" I squealed, pulling out of Gavroche's grasp and leaping into my brother's arms.

"Hey kiddo!" he smiled broadly and gave me a hug. "How was your day?"

"Great, thanks!" I giggled, then poked him hard in the chest. "You knew about this the whole time, didn't you?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah… I did."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "No more surprises."

"Okay, okay!" he agreed, laughing.

"So how'd the interview go?"

"Pretty good! I think they liked me. They're going to contact me in a few weeks," my brother answered.

"Yay!" I climbed out of his lap and went back to stand next to Gavroche. We started to leave, but Courfeyrac interjected: "Why don't you two hang out here?"

Gav turned to me, his expression questioning. I shrugged. "Sure."

"Yay!" cheered Jehan.

Gavroche sat down in a deck chair and patted the spot next to him. I took a seat, and he put an arm around my shoulders. The whole porch was silent except for the squish of Joly reapplying his hand sanitizer.

"So…." Combeferre started, trying to make conversation.

"Has Gavroche kissed you yet, Jenne?" blurted Jehan.

"PROUVAIRE!" Gavroche looked so annoyed and embarrassed, it made me laugh out loud.

"Well?" This time Courfeyrac was asking.

"No," Gav admitted. He gave me a sly glance. "Not yet."

Not yet.

Well, that had to mean something.

I leaned closer to him, my lips brushing the tip of Gavroche's ear. "Make it soon."

"Of course," he breathed back, grasping my hand tightly.

"We'll make sure to give you two privacy, then!" my brother laughed.

I blushed and stuck my tongue out at him again. "Cut it out!"

Hours later (around 8 pm) after we'd all eaten and everything, Combeferre got a fire going in the backyard, and we all sat around it. Grantaire got out his guitar and played a few songs for us. We'd just finished singing 'You Belong with Me' when Gavroche cleared his throat and made direct eye contact with Grantaire. The alcoholic nodded, and passed the instrument to him. All eyes turned to Gavroche.

He cleared his throat. "Umm… I'd like to play -and sing- something for Jennette."

Soon everyone's gaze was focused on me instead. I turned bright red and laughed nervously. "Since when can you play the guitar?"

"R's been giving me lessons," he mumbled.

"Okay…" I wasn't quite sure how to react to that. Hopefully there hadn't been much alcohol involved.

Gavroche took the guitar pick Grantaire had given him and began to play. I recognized the tune instantly.

"Good little girl

Always picking a fight with me

You know that I'm bad

But you're spending the night with me

What do you want from my world?

You're a good little girl…."

Jehan looked as though he might have some kind of fit, he was bouncing up and down so much. If it weren't for Courfeyrac putting a hand over his mouth, Gavroche's song would've been interrupted by numerous "AWW!"s

I looked Gavroche right in the eye, and in a loud, clear voice, answered:

i "Bad little boy

That's what you're acting like

But I really don't buy

That you're that kind of guy

And… if you are… tell me why

Why not just say goodbye?"

Gav looked directly at me, shaking his head and grinning.

"Good little girl

You've stolen my heart away

I like how you smile

And make fun of the words I say…"

I chimed in for the last two verses.

"Who would've thought I could fall?

It's not so bad after all…."

"THATWASTHECUTESTTHINGIHAVEEVERSEENOHMYGODGAVYOUARETOCUTEFORWORDSJENNETTESWEETHEARTYOUHAVETHEBESTBOYFRIENDCOURFYWHYDONTYOUDOTHATFORME?" Jehan was bouncing around again and squealing uncontrollably. And actually CRYING.

"Aww, sweetheart…. you know I have no musical talent!" Courfeyrac chuckled, trying in vain to control his hyperactive partner. The others laughed, because, really, it was true.

Gavroche took Jehan's distraction as an opportunity to put Grantaire's guitar down, grab my hand, and lead me away from the fire circle.

"Gav! Where are we going now?" I demanded.

"I have to show you something," he answered mysteriously. "Come on!"

The sun had almost set, casting an orange glow on the grass as it slowly disappeared into the horizon. Gavroche lead me to the way, way far back of the property, to foot of this hill I'd noticed earlier, but never had the chance to climb until now. It had a cute little wooden bench at the top, perfect for watching a sunset.

"Isn't it amazing?" Gav asked me once we reached the top, sitting down on the bench.

I took a seat next to him and leaned against his shoulder, looking out at the horizon. The sun had vanished, and darkness was falling fast. Stars were already starting to appear, twinkling in the late-summer sky.

I turned back to Gavroche and smiled. "It is."

Gav laughed softly and leant forwards, the tip of his nose brushing mine. "No, I mean it's amazing how madly in love I am with you." He came closer still. "My angel…."

"My one and only…." I whispered, closing my eyes.

His lips pressed softly against mine, he grasped the back of my head gently and pulled me closer. I felt his tongue practically down my throat, but I didn't mind. Gavroche's lips twisted and turned, and it seemed like it would go on for eternity, but finally we came up for air. After about half a minute of breathing time, I dragged him under again, savoring the sweetness of his lips. I felt like I was floating, or in a dream… it didn't seem real. But it was. I could practically feel our mutual adoration in the air.

We kissed until the sky was pitch black, the stars shining even more brilliantly than before. I could hear fireworks going off over and over again, sparks flying between Gavroche and I.

No, seriously, there were actual fireworks. Later we found out that Courfeyrac had found some firecrackers in his parents' shed, and (illegally) set them off. In the distance I could hear my brother and the others calling my name, and my boyfriend's. I didn't move from my seat, though, and neither did Gavroche. I wanted to remember this night forever. I knew I would.

It was the most magical night of my life...